


The More I Know You (The More I Want To)

by ThePineScentedAir



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: All Human AU, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Getting to know you, Handyman AU, Handyman!Alec, Idiots in Love, M/M, Near-Death Experience, Sarcasm, Sharing a Bed, Wit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 18:38:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12965880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePineScentedAir/pseuds/ThePineScentedAir
Summary: On the drive to town Magnus realizes two very important things. The first is that he’s going to need to keep Alec around for a while because this is going to take a lot longer than he expected. And the second is that, if he’s not extremely careful, he could find himself falling headlong in love with Alec.---Or, after Magnus begins renovations on his house he learns he's over his head and needs to call a handyman for help. It just so happens that handyman sticks around longer than either of them expected. The pining, getting-together construction AU no one asked for but has been bugging me since the summer.





	The More I Know You (The More I Want To)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notcrypticbutcoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notcrypticbutcoy/gifts).



> This is for the Malec Secret Santa 2017 and it's my first time participating in something like this! I'm so excited. This one is for notcrypticbutcoy and I hope you like it! 
> 
> Title from "Starving" by Hailee Steinfeld. Many thanks to my real-life superhero and twin from another mother for the beta. All other mistakes are my own. 
> 
> Without further adieu...enjoy!

Magnus starts it…well not on a whim, per say. But it does just sort of happen one day, when he decides he’s going to restore the old Victorian house he lives in. The house stands on twelve acres of land in western Massachusetts and, while it was beautiful when his parents bought it (long before he came along), it’s since fallen into disrepair.

His parents passed away a year ago, and now every time he walks through the house he’s reminded of its potential. Of the potential they dreamed for it. So he finds himself sitting at the kitchen island one day, eating breakfast and scrolling through tile options on The Home Depot website.

Two hours later, he’s at the cash register with a cart full of tile, glue, faucets, drawer pulls, and curtain rods. The cashier smiles at Magnus as he rings him up. “Big project?” the man asks. His tag reads “Jace.”

Magnus smiles at the blonde teller and nods. “Yes! I’ve decided to update my house and figured I could start in the bathrooms.”

Jace quirks an eyebrow. “All on your own?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you knew any good handymen. I was going to look online but thought I might try word-of-mouth first.”

As Jace pushes buttons on the screen and tells Magnus his final total, he nods. “Actually, my brother, Alec, does some housework. He’s pretty good, helped me rewire my house last year. I can give you his number if you want?”

Magnus pays and loads his haul back into the carriage. “That would be fantastic.”

Jace grabs a slip of paper and writes down a ten-digit number. “Have a wonderful day,” he says with a smile, handing over Alec’s number.

\---

“Hi, is this Alec?” Magnus paces in the small area of the first floor bathroom, stalling at the sink before turning and running into the half-demolished tub-slash-shower mess. He runs his hand through his already disheveled and plaster-dust-filled hair.

“Speaking…”

Magnus tilts his head back, eyes closed in silent thanks. “Jace at The Home Depot gave me your number. You’re a handyman, right?”

“That I am!” the voice on the other line confirms. “Do you have a project you need help with?”

Magnus chuckles. “Uh, you could say that. I’m knee-deep in some renovations and have discovered that not only is this a lot harder than I thought it would be, it also requires two people. And one of those people needs to have some basic knowledge of how to demo properly.” He closes his eyes again. “You wouldn’t happen to be free today to help me? I’m kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. And I mean that almost literally.”

“Sure…but do you want to know my rates first so you can—?”

Magnus cuts him off. “Not to be rude, but if you’re as good as I need you to be then I’ll pay you whatever you want. I’m in quite the pickle right now and could use you ASAP.”

Alec pauses and then Magnus hears him ask, “What’s your address?”

\---

Magnus….Magnus did not expect Alec to be this attractive. He just kind of stands there, looking at the exceedingly handsome, well-built Alec, while the handyman stands in the entrance of the bathroom surveying the damage. Magnus tries not to stare at the muscles peeking out from beneath the sleeves of Alec’s black tee or at the toned legs shown off by Alec’s jean shorts. And he tries valiantly to keep his cool when Alec turns his teenage-dream-boat eyes to Magnus. He fails epically.

“This is a lot of damage already for such a small person,” Alec remarks, a hint of a joke in his tone.

Magnus blinks at him. “I promise to not take offense to that if you promise to help even now that you’ve seen the damage.”

Alec grins at his new boss and nods. “Fair enough. Sounds like a deal to me.” He steps over the huge pile of tiles (using his long legs that have not gone unnoticed by Magnus because _damn_ ) and stops in front of the shorter man. “So you’re trying to replace the…?” He quirks his eyebrow, waiting for Magnus to fill in the gaps.

Magnus smiles. “What, you can’t tell by the mess?” His grin falls and he shrugs. “Ok fine. No, you can’t tell by the mess. I was hoping to replace the shower unit with tile instead of that ugly white plastic. Also the faucet in the sink, the drawer pulls on the cabinet, the showerhead….there’s something I’m forgetting…oh! The flooring!” He looks down at his feet and taps the toes of his shoes against the bright blue ceramic tile. “Ugly fucking floor,” he mutters under his breath.

Alec must hear him, because the next thing Magnus knows, the man is guffawing. The sound resonates around the small room and Magnus can’t help but join in, the sound contagious. “That really is a lot of damage for someone with no experience.”

“How do you know I don’t have any experience?” Alec quirks an eyebrow and Magnus nods. “Point taken. So? Where do we start?”

Alec grins. “Well, we start by you stepping over this pile and leaving me to work on this.”

Magnus frowns. “Well, I sort of wanted to work on this, too.”

Alec nods. “I understand, but there’s really only enough space in here for one person…and that person needs to have a clue what they’re doing.” He surveys the damage again, thinking. “How about this? I’ll work on clearing this out while you do…whatever you want to do. And when I’m ready to start laying the tile down you can come in and tell me where you want things to go. And you can help lay the tile if you promise to do it exactly how I tell you to.”

“I suppose that’ll work. I’ll just be in the office, then.” He turns to leave and then reverses course. “You’ll come get me?”

Alec looks up from where he’s squatting down, hands full of plaster. “Of course I will. These tiles are heavy and I don’t feel like bending to pick them up. I could use an assistant.” He winks at Magnus and then turns to get to work.

\---

“So what prompted the renovations?” Alec asks an hour later.

Apparently, he wasn’t kidding about the helping, and Magnus hands him another tile before responding. “My parents have been gone for a year and I grew up in this house with them. I had the money and the time and I guess I wanted to honor their investment by making it a little nicer.” He shrugs. “The house hasn’t been the same since they died.”

Alec looks up at him after placing another tile on the wall. “I’m sorry if I brought up any negative emotions.”

He looks sincere and so Magnus smiles wanly. “You didn’t know. It’s ok…this house holds a lot of great memories for me. And honestly I think they would want me to do this. They always complained about how the house was falling apart.” He bends to pick up another tile and tilts his head as he looks at the ones on the wall. “Do those look crooked to you?”

Alec’s eyebrow shoots up. “My work is perfect. Your head is crooked.”

Magnus grins and hands him the tile. They work in silence for a while longer. Magnus’ stomach growls loudly and he inspects the time on his phone. “Can I get you anything for lunch?”

Alec, who crouches over a plastic jug to mix grout, pauses to look at Magnus over his shoulder. “You don’t have to do that.”

Magnus waves him off. “I’m going to order sandwiches from a shop in town and go pick them up. What would you like?”

“A BLT? Mustard, no mayo. And a Pepsi?”

Magnus grins. “Got it. Will you be ok here until I get back?”

Alec nods and turns back to mixing the grout. “I’ll be here. Might be able to finish up the shower before you get back.”

“Perfect! I’ll see you in a bit.”

\---

On the drive to town Magnus realizes two very important things. The first is that he’s going to need to keep Alec around for a while because this is going to take a lot longer than he expected. And the second is that, if he’s not extremely careful, he could find himself falling headlong in love with Alec.

He lists all of the adjectives he thinks describe Alec (gorgeous, witty, intelligent, gifted, strong, compassionate) in his mind while he pays for the sandwiches and then spends the entire car ride back wishing he hadn’t. Because Alec is exactly the type of guy Magnus would fall for and he seriously can’t spend the next few weeks ogling his handyman at every turn.

He thinks, though, as he hands over the sandwich to Alec who takes it with a smile, that they could become friends.

\---

“Did you have a plan at all when you started this?” Alec asks over lunch. In the time Magnus was gone, Alec managed to redo the tile in the shower. He’d emerged triumphantly when Magnus arrived with the sandwiches, taking his lunch gladly and proclaiming his genius.

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t start a project without a plan or an end goal.” He shrugs and takes a sip of his soda. “I just underestimated how much work it would be.”

Alec nods. “That’s what they all say.”

“How long have you been a handyman?”

“It’s been a while. I finished high school and my parents tried to push me down one path but I ended up forging my own. I’ve always been good with my hands.”

Magnus bites his tongue on the many lines of innuendo he wants to spew out. Instead he comments, “The bathroom does look great so far. When you’re finished with that do you think you can help me reno the kitchen?”

Alec looks around at the vintage cabinets, the art deco ceiling, the granite countertops. “Uh…what is it you want to renovate in here?” he asks dubiously.

Magnus sets down his sandwich. “I’ll show you.”

Twenty minutes later Alec is shaking his head and batting at Magnus’s hands to push him back and away from the plans on the table. “First of all, this ceiling is amazing and you just can’t do anything with it. And the cabinets are perfectly fine so don’t touch those either.” He starts to sketch something and cuts off Magnus’s protests. “You _can_ , however, move the island back farther and do something with this wall separating the kitchen and the living room. It’s not load baring and it would open the space up more.”

“And I suppose you could do all this?”

Alec looks up with a smile. “I could, but it’ll take some time. You might be stuck with me for a month or so.”

Magnus shrugs nonchalantly, even though his smile ruins it. “I can think of worse things.”

\---

Magnus likes having Alec in the house. He likes it _a lot_. Alec is even more amazing after two weeks than after two hours. So far, Magnus has helped him finish laying the tile on the bathroom floor, change the showerhead and faucet, and dismantle the current island in the kitchen. And they haven’t stopped talking the entire time.

“Is ‘Alec’ short for anything?”

“Yeah, Alexander.”

Magnus snorts. “Alexander the Great. What a fitting title.” He grunts as he shoulders one end of solid oak used in the construction of the kitchen island. On the other end of the plank Alec just shakes his head and lifts one hand to brush his hair from his eyes. He holds the plank easily in one hand.

“Lift with your knees, Magnus,” Alec says instead of retorting. Magnus just huffs.

While they’re covering the furniture in the living room with tarps to protect from demolition dust Magnus gets curious about Alec’s business. “So, you’ve been here Monday through Friday from ten until five for the past two weeks.”

Alec looks up at him over the back of one of the sofas. “Yes?”

“Do you not have any other clients?”

Alec smiles and looks down at his hands, smoothing out the tarp. “None that are this much fun to work with. Plus, the renovations you’re doing now are extensive enough that I don’t need to take on any other jobs at the moment.”

“So I have you all to myself.”

It’s kind of said in an undertone and Alec isn’t quite sure if he’s supposed to hear it. But he still smiles and says, “I guess you do.”

Magnus looks up at him. “What would you like for lunch today?” he asks instead of commenting on what may have been (what he hopes was) a moment between them.

\---

Magnus cackles wildly as he brings down the sledgehammer against the wall once again. Dust and debris flies everywhere, ricocheting off the safety goggles Alec made him wear. His eyes are bright with joy when he looks over at Alec.

“Having fun?” Alec asks. He’s got his arms crossed over his chest like he’s waiting for Magnus to get tired and for the real demolition to begin. But he has a wide smile on his face and Magnus thinks they’ve crossed another threshold in their friendship. There’s something about the smile, like it’s a mixture of fond and fed-up that can really only be achieved once feelings get involved.

Magnus presents the hammer to Alec. “That was the most fun I’ve had in years.”

“You definitely need to get out more.” Alec keeps smiling as he says it, though, and takes the hammer. “Please stand back while the real professional works.”

Magnus rolls his eyes. “And when does she show up?”

Alec pauses with the hammer on his shoulder. “Are you questioning my abilities while I have a sledge hammer on my shoulder?”

Magnus chuckles. “No, of course I’m not,” he sarcastically tosses over his shoulder as he saunters out of the room. He can just barely hear the sound of Alec’s laughter over the hammer hitting plaster.

\---

“So Jace tells me you haven’t taken any other clients in two months,” Isabelle says easily around her mug of coffee.

Alec rolls his eyes. “I’m allowed to run my business however I want to.”

“Run it straight into the ground for all I care. What I want to know is who is this mystery guy?”

“He’s…I don’t know, Iz, he’s great.” Alec blushes and takes a sip of coffee while Isabelle squeals in delight. “I’ve never met someone quite like him.”

“You _like_ him! That’s amazing, Big Bro! Have you put the moves on him yet?” She waggles her eyebrows.

“It’s…there hasn’t been a right time. We’re just friends right now. Close, but friends.”

Isabelle rolls her eyes. “There’s gotta be more than that if he keeps making up projects for you.”

Alec shrugs. “The kitchen is almost done. He’s probably just going to pay me for that work and then send me on my way.”

“Yeah, but if he doesn’t that means that he still wants you around. Just go for it!”

Alec sips his coffee. “Maybe.”

\---

“Do you think you can help me renovate the master bathroom and bedroom?” Magnus asks one morning while Alec’s measuring out the wood for the kitchen island. He’s standing in the (one unaltered) doorframe clutching his cup of coffee to his chest.

Alec looks up at him. “It’s going to be another few weeks of work.”

Magnus takes a sip of his coffee. “Good. I’ve started to enjoy having you around.”

Alec smiles, his heart skipping a beat, and looks down at the wood in his hands. “Why don’t you put that coffee down and come help me measure?”

Magnus snorts. “Right, cause that went so well the first time.”

“Just shut up and come over here.”

Magnus rolls his eyes but he’s smiling once he makes his way through the construction and debris. “Where do you want me?”

Alec grabs his arm and gently pulls him over where he’s standing. His arms form a cage around Magnus and they’re standing chest to back facing the wood. Magnus stops breathing. “This is your ruler,” Alec states, lifting Magnus’s left hand and placing it on the metal ruler. “And this is your pencil.” Alec folds a pencil into Magnus’s right hand. “Put the ruler on the end and measure six inches in.”

Magnus is hyper-focused on Alec’s touch surrounding him, his warm hands on his and his warm chest pressing into his back. He can even feel Alec’s breath on his ear as he leans over his shoulder. “Here?” Magnus asks, pressing his pencil down.

“Right here is perfect,” Alec replies quietly.

Magnus reads the double meaning in the statement and tries not to blush too furiously as he makes the mark. “Well this has all been very educational—“ he begins, turning in Alec’s arms. He’s stopped by their proximity, faces now inches away from each other, and looks down at Alec’s lips distractedly.

“I’ve always been told I’m a good teacher,” Alec says lowly, also staring at Magnus’s lips. His tongue comes out to wet his as he leans down toward Magnus, pulled by the gravity between them.

Magnus wants to lean in and seal their lips together but something is still holding him back. He leans away with a small apologetic smile. “I need to go do some of my own work. Thanks for the lesson.” He nudges past Alec’s arm and walks away but can’t help turning around and checking on Alec before he leaves the room. “Maybe you can teach me something else tomorrow.”

Alec looks up with a smile on his face. “I’ll be here for a while, right? Plenty of time to show you everything I know.”

Magnus picks up his mug and walks out of the room. He pauses in the hallway to lean his head against the wall and just breathe.

\---

“Do you like him?” Catarina asks him over the phone. Magnus can hear the smirk in her voice.

“Gee, let’s think. I’ve been talking about him non-stop for three months and I keep making up projects so he’ll stay. Yeah, Cat, I think I like him.” He pauses, reconsiders, admits “I think I love him” in a quieter voice, full of vulnerability.

“Oh, honey, you’ve got it bad. But if you feel this way why haven’t you told him? You said he’s made moves on you, right?”

“Yes…”

“Well, why don’t you just let it happen?’

Magnus sighs and thumps his head back on the guest room bed. He’s been using this room since they started master bed and bath renovations. “I don’t know. Because I’m afraid it’ll end badly? What if he doesn’t love me, too, Cat?”

“Sounds to me like he does.”

“Maybe…”

Catarina sighs. “You want my advice? Go get him. Next time he makes a move don’t run away from him just go with it. I’m willing to bet you won’t be disappointed.”

Magnus nods. “You’re probably right. Thanks dear.”

She snorts. “Of course I’m right. Why else would you be calling me? Love you!”

\---

Ultimately, it’s Magnus’s decision to rewire the house that brings them together. It’s…not his best idea. And he’s lucky Alec was coming over on his day off just to spend time with Magnus because something goes terribly, horribly wrong.

Alec pulls into the driveway just as lights in the living room start to flicker. He throws the truck in park and bolts into the house, his feet barely touching the ground. He finds Magnus lying on his back in the living room. When he presses his fingers to his neck he can’t feel a pulse.

Alec’s heart almost stops beating at the thought that Magnus might be dead. He dials 911 and puts the phone on speaker as he starts CPR. “911, what is your emergency?”

“I’m at 1149 Harkness Road. There’s a thirty-year-old man who was trying to rewire his house and got shocked. I can’t feel a pulse and I’m doing CPR,” Alec speaks quickly but clearly as he presses down on Magnus’s chest. The emergency service technician is speaking to him but he’s not listening, focusing entirely on keeping Magnus alive.

“Damn you,” he mumbles under his breath. Magnus doesn’t respond. Alec pulls back, takes a deep breath, and seals his lips around Magnus’s, pushing air into his lungs. He takes another breath and does it again before going back to compressions. “Come back to me,” he begs.

He gets through two more sets before panic starts to set in. He presses harder on Magnus’s chest and sends a prayer out to the universe before pressing his lips to Magnus’s again.

He doesn’t realize what’s happening at first. But then Magnus’s tongue presses against his and he’s now no longer performing mouth-to-mouth. Now it’s a full-on kiss. He pulls back with wide eyes and stares down at Magnus.

“You’re alive!” Alec breathes. “He’s alive!” he says loud enough for the phone to pickup even as he hears sirens in the distance.

Magnus blinks up at him, stunned. “What happened? Were you kissing me?”

Alec shakes his head. “You _idiot_.” And then he leans down and kisses Magnus properly because his heart is beating a mile a minute and he almost just lost this imperfect and ridiculous human and he can’t bear that thought. So he kisses Magnus softly and brushes his hair back from his forehead when he pulls back.

The paramedics come in after that and Alec follows them to the hospital. He waits for an hour until they’re done checking Magnus over and he can go into the room. “So apparently I have no idea how to rewire a house,” Magnus says sheepishly.

Alec shakes his head. “You scared me.” He walks over to the bed slowly, still talking. “What the hell were you thinking? Were you even thinking? You could have _died_ , Magnus. Do you understand? I _told you_ not to touch the wiring. Will you _ever_ listen to me?” He reaches the bed.

Magnus grabs him by the shirt and reels him in for a kiss, because all he heard in Alec’s entire speech were the words _I love you_ repeated over and over in six different ways. “I’m sorry,” he whispers against Alec’s lips.

“ _Moron_ ,” Alec replies, though the insult is diminished by the fondness in his voice and the smile on his face.

A tiny voice sounds at the door behind them. “Knock, knock.” Alec turns to see an adorable nurse (she’s so _tiny_ and there’s no way she’s much older than Alec) standing in the doorway looking sheepishly at them. “Sorry, gentlemen, just need to check on Mr. Bane here.” Alec steps back from the bed and she smiles at him. “Excuse me.”

“Do you think I’ll live?” Magnus asks, all serious. Alec wants to reach out and choke him. _Too soon_ he mouths behind the nurse’s shoulder.

“Just barely, thanks to the person who saved your life,” the nurse responds, tilting her head in Alec’s direction. Alec nods in a ‘she knows what’s what’ sort of way. Magnus just grins at him.

“Am I cleared to leave?”

She shakes her head. “Not just yet, sorry. The doctor wants to keep you overnight to be certain you’re ok. I’m the overnight nurse on call, so if you need anything just press the button and ask for Clary.” She turns to Alec. “Good work saving him. I’ve known him all of five seconds and I can already tell he’s a pain.” She winks at him and walks out.

“Hey! What about bedside manner?” Magnus calls after her.

Alec chuckles. “Well I guess I’ll leave you to rest up for tonight. I’ll come back tomorrow to pick you up after they discharge you?”

Magnus nods and reaches out a hand. “ _Thank you_ for saving my life,” he says sincerely. “And I solemnly swear to never touch live wires ever again.” He squeezes Alec’s hand. Alec squeezes back and then they just sort of stay like that, looking at each other, until Magnus breaks first and bites his lip. “So, the kissing thing is nice,” he says.

Alec smiles back. “It’s much better when you’re fully conscious and not trying to lick my tonsils.”

Magnus drops his hand to throw both of his into the air. “I try to say _one_ nice thing and you have to go and be all sarcastic about it.”

Alec’s laughing, though, and pulling Magnus’s hands back down onto the bed. “Calm down or they’ll keep you for longer than a night. Yes, the kissing is nice. And when I bring you back home tomorrow maybe we can continue it horizontally.”

Magnus quirks an eyebrow. “Oh yes, I think that can be arranged.” They lock eyes for a second and then both break down into laughter.

“I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Kiss for the road?” Magnus asks. Alec bites his lip and then leans down to kiss Magnus gently but thoroughly. “Damn,” Magnus whispers when he pulls back.

“Rest up,” Alec demands as he heads out of the room. He can’t fight the grin on his face.

When he gets to the parking lot, Alec pulls out his cell phone and calls his brother. “Hey, Jace, I need your help tonight. Think you’re up to pulling an all-nighter for the job I’m working?”

\---

“So this is Magnus, huh?” Jace asks, studying the family picture on the wall. Alec remembers Magnus telling him about it, the happy photo of him and his parents smiling and laughing together. It was a candid photo during the last family photography session they ever had.

Alec stops next to Jace, arms full of wooden planks, and smiles. “Yeah, that’s Magnus.” He’s so happy in the picture, face lit up with joy, that Alec can’t help but smile.

Jace catches the expression on his face and rolls his eyes. “You’re so fucking in love it’s disgusting.”

Alec slaps him with the boards. “Shut up and follow me.”

They work through the night, finishing the painting and laying the wooden flooring. Alec already finished the master bath a week ago and the lighting in the room is done. All in all it looks warm and homey, even without furniture. “Not bad,” Jace says with a nod as he surveys their work.

“Come on, let’s work on the kitchen island while everything dries and sets.”

By the time eleven am rolls around and Magnus is texting Alec for a ride home, the furniture is back in the master bedroom and the kitchen island is three-quarters finished. Alec claps Jace on the shoulder. “Thanks for the help.”

Jace, expression exhausted, just nods. “Only because you love him.” He points at Alec. “And only because he almost died. You know you’re going to have to fill Izzy in about all this eventually, right?”

Alec groans and ushers Jace out of the house, locking up quickly. “Maybe if I stay away and keep hiding she’ll never know?”

Jace chuckles. “Like that would ever work. She’s _Izzy_.”

Alec waves him off and climbs into his car to head to the hospital. He parks in the lot and finds Magnus checking out at the front counter. Alec also notices a familiar head of red hair. “Hi, Magnus,” Alec says as he walks up to them.

“Hi Alec!” the nurse, Clary, greets. “Magnus and I were just talking about you. Well…we kind of didn’t stop talking about you all night.”

Alec’s eyebrows shoot up and he turns his gaze on Magnus, who’s looking sheepishly back at him. “I was bored. You know how it is. And it was a slow night for her so Clary and I stayed up chatting.” He yawns. “And as a result I didn’t get much sleep. The guest bedroom still has a mattress for me when we get home, right?”

Alec thinks of the surprise he has for Magnus but nods anyways. “Yeah, it’s still there until the master is finished.” He smiles at Clary. “Sorry he kept you from your work. Magnus doesn’t really have a concept of other people’s time.”

Magnus rolls his eyes and scoffs while Clary just giggles. “Oh, _please_ , Alexander. Clary and I are great friends. She even added me on facebook.” He takes Alec’s hand and laces their fingers together. “But you _are_ right. We should get home. It was lovely to meet you, Biscuit.” Magnus wraps his free arm around Clary and then lets Alec pull him away.

“How are you feeling?” Alec asks on the drive home.

Magnus shrugs. “Like I got electrocuted, died, and was brought to life by my boyfriend.”

Alec looks at him. “So we’re dating?”

Magnus rolls his eyes. “Unless you kiss every person you work for.”

“You mean you don’t kiss everyone who works on your house? My brother’s going to be so offended.”

Magnus scoffs but then hones in on part of Alec’s sentence. “Wait, when did your brother work on the house?”

Alec shrugs noncommittally and doesn’t respond. Magnus frowns but drops it. They’re almost home anyways.

\---

“You’re kidding.”

Alec’s standing behind Magnus, arms wrapped around his waist and head lowered to rest his chin on Magnus’s shoulder. “Jace, my brother, helped. Do you like it?”

Magnus spins in his arms and locks his hands together around Alec’s neck. “I almost died and you saved me and yet instead of waiting for me to do something for you, you came here and did something for me?” Magnus pulls him down and kisses him. “Of _course_ I like it.”

Alec leans down to kiss him again, except Magnus yawns and breaks the moment. He looks sheepish and sorry about it, but Alec can’t help the fond smile that breaks out on his face. “Let’s take a nap,” he suggests.

Magnus nods and slides out of his embrace. “A nap sounds like exactly what I need.” He kicks off his shoes before walking into the finished bedroom and walks into the closet to change into pajama pants. Before he gets too far with changing, he grabs a pair of his larger sweatpants and throws them out to Alec.

They climb into bed together; Magnus curls up against Alec and shivers at how warm his body is. They fit together easily and being in bed like this is just as easy as every conversation they’ve had since Alec saved Magnus in his bathroom all those weeks ago. Alec kisses the top of Magnus’s head and smiles down at him.

Magnus pulls him closer. “I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship,” he mumbles sleepily.

Alec chuckles. “Just go to sleep.” But there’s a smile in his voice and on his face, and he pulls Magnus just a little bit closer. Right before Magnus dozes off, he hears Alec whisper, “I’m so glad I didn’t lose you.” And he _thinks_ he might hear Alec whisper, “I love you,” but he’s already half-passed-out and it might be his imagination.

Alec stares down at Magnus, running his fingers through his hair and thinking about what he just said to this man. The words feel heavy in his mouth, but still right. “Maybe I’ll tell you for real when we wake up,” Alec muses. He doesn’t think for much longer, though, as his own sleep deprivation pulls him under.

It’s the best either of them has slept in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! Come say hi on [tumblr](http://thepinescentedair.tumblr.com/)


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